Virgin Mobile FreeFest: 3 acts you must not miss

By Allison Stewart

Grace Potter and The Nocturnals are one of the top acts to see at Saturday’s Virgin Mobile FreeFest. (Ardien Broom)We won't lie. You could skip this weekend's Virgin Mobile FreeFest entirely and still lead a perfectly fulfilling life. Maybe you have some gardening you could do instead? Or reading? Is planking still a thing? It's not?

FreeFest's lineup this year may not rival that of the Fests of old, but for those who are going, here’s a short list of the Unmissables: one artist from each of the three stages who you should be sure to catch.

Pavilion Stage

Who: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Why you mustn't miss them: Potter's live show is amazing, much more focused than her country-version-of-Phish-except-with-a-girl albums would suggest.

Unless: You haven't seen Patti Smith live yet. She's something of an acquired taste that some never acquire, but everyone should see her once in their lifetime.

Festival Stage

Who: Cee Lo Green

Why you mustn't miss him: Between the Goodie Mob, Gnarls Barkley material and his solo stuff, he's got a lot more songs you'll recognize than any of the other acts.

Unless: You really love James Murphy, who, cruelly, is on at the same time.

Dance Forest

Who:Calvin Harris

Why you mustn't miss him: The Scottish DJ/artist excels at what he calls "stadium dance," which is basically the electro version of arena rock, complete with over the top showmanship and whatever the EDM version of big riffage is.

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Comments our editors find particularly useful or relevant are displayed in Top Comments, as are comments by users with these badges: . Replies to those posts appear here, as well as posts by staff writers.